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Spanish colonization affected native americans summary
The fall of the Aztec empire
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In 1492 Columbus and his men landed in a completely different part of the world than they expected; the Americas. They came to be a part of the emerging western empire, and the riches that came along with it. In the decades that followed that first landing in the Americas; Spanish explorers came in search for the great wonders that this land was claimed to have. These Spanish Explorers had no respect for the native peoples who have inhabited this land for centuries. Certain tribes were unable to revolt against the Conquistadores, however, some fought back and won. Over the next hundred years the Spanish continued their injustice towards the Natives because they believed their Christian duty allowed them to conquer this land and bring its people, no mater the cost, to their God. In 1504, Cortés a Spanish Conquistador came to the new world in search of a wealthy kingdom. Within a few years Montezuma the emperor of this kingdom heard about these men and believed them to be part of a prophecy, thus he invited Cortes and his men to a feast. When Cortés arrived Montezuma gave a long speech to show how pleased he was at Cortés’s arrival, Cortés replied “Let Moteucçoma (Montezuma) be at ease, let him not be afraid, for we greatly esteem him”. Cortés and his men gave the impression that they were in awe of meeting Montezuma. This feeling changed as soon as the men reached the palace when they took Montezuma hostage and kept watch over him. What the Conquistadores desired became evident when they began interrogating Montezuma. In an account of a Native Mexican, it was said that “they greatly prodded him, they eagerly sought gold as a thing of esteem.” They had no respect for these people. All they were after was the gold that was... ... middle of paper ... ...essfully ran them out of their village. The Natives won their land and way of life back from Spanish rule. The atrocities that the Natives faced was not because they did anything wrong to the Spanish, it was because the Spanish did not respect the indigenous peoples and believed they could treat them in anyway they desired. Works Cited Michael Johnson, Reading The American Past, (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2002), 29. Johnson, Reading The American Past, 30. Ibid. Ibid. Johnson, Reading The American Past, 31. Ibid Ibid. Johnson, Reading The American Past, 31,32. Johnson, Reading The American Past, 32. Johnson, Reading The American Past, 51. Ibid. Johnson, Reading The American Past, 52. Ibid. Ibid. Johnson, Reading The American Past, 53. Johnson, Michael. Reading The American Past. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2002.